Tag: Ohio State University

Returning to Ohio State after a long summer back home in Cincinnati was like a breath of fresh air. Yeah, it was tough to be away from my favorite (albeit only) university for even that long! And in just the first week of school, I was reminded of the opportunities for fun that I had long missed, especially OUAB sponsored events. If you haven’t heard of OUAB, you’re seriously missing out. Their calendar’s full of cool, mostly free, events for OSU students. Why are OUAB events so awesome, you may ask? Well, it’s organized and run by your fellow students, of course! Plus they even have opportunities exclusively for graduate and professional students.

On Friday evening, there were two events by OUAB: a grad/prof cookout and a Weezer concert, both free to students. At the Faculty Club, many graduate students came to relax and mingle and win raffle prizes. Unfortunately I arrived a little late for the food, but The Council of Graduate Students was on hand with free water bottles and information about how to become involved in the branch of student government representing graduate students.

Shortly thereafter, my friend and I made our way over to the stage set up on South Oval for the Weezer concert. Hundreds of others were already waiting early for the event. In spite of the somewhat erratic rain, a throng of fans stood umbrella-less for over two hours before the headliner began. Some people entertained themselves by dancing to the openers or simply dancing to the music that burst from the speakers in between bands. In fact, the highlight of the preconcert experience was absorbing the sight of a student climbing the lone light pole near the stage while his fellow students yelled with encouragement. Though paramedics were on hand, he fortunately was not injured.

Before long the band was on stage. They of course played their popular songs, but also included some new songs I had not yet heard off their new album, Hurley (you read that correctly Lost fans, that Hurley). The band has taken an interesting, nontraditional promotional method for their new album (if you don’t believe me, just Google Weezer Youtube Invasion). As much as I enjoyed the music, it was the people watching that I enjoyed most about the experience. Weezer fans dance in all different ways, from the traditional two step, head bob to a more eclectic, act like no one can is watching style. The concert was certainly a welcoming environment to embrace your geek side. And after all, who besides Weezer makes being a self-declared geek seem so appealing?

The View in Shanghai

I write from Shanghai and although I have been here many times, I am struck yet again by the city’s complexity, intensity, and beauty. I am in China for several days, meeting with university and business leaders, government officials, students, alumni, and friends. This city is my first stop, and my agenda is a full one.

A couple of days ago, we opened the University’s new Gateway office here – our first physical portal in another country. The office is modest in size, but large in purpose. Through it, we seek to enlarge Ohio State’s collaborations across China. To expand research and scholarship endeavors. To build on our already-strong student recruitment efforts. To strengthen ties with our large alumni base here. And to discover new opportunities not only for our students, faculty, and staff, but also for partnerships with Ohio businesses.

Yesterday, I was honored to speak at an event sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The audience was a mix of leaders from various industries and many different countries. My message – that our thoroughly shared future depends on more aggressive collaboration and calculated risk-taking – applies equally across industries and national borders. At a time when innovation drives economic growth around the world, we must always seek new ideas and new partners. As I told the audience, whether we live in Columbus, Ohio, or Shanghai, the true global currency is now human creativity.

As a Chinese student, I think it is a very good opportunity for Chinese candidates to know more about Ohio State University as well as its spirit. As a student at Ohio State University, I highly appreciate the opening of international gateway, which will definitely develop the reputation of OSU worldwide and attract more excellent Chinese students.

Now this international gateway is under development and needs talented staff, so I attached the recruiting message here. Hopefully, OSU fans have the opportunity to get access into OSU. Hopefully, OSU Shanghai Gateway possess sufficient talents for future development.

OSU China Gateway (Shanghai) Representative Office is looking for a long term student intern.
100 RMB per day for compensation.

Requirements:
* Strong sense of responsibility, hard working, and quick learner
* Good communication skills
* Good computer skills, including master use of MS Office
* Good English skills, especially written and spoken English
* 3-5 days a week available
* Undergraduate 3,4 year /Graduate Student 2,3 year
* Major in Business, Marketing and Accounting preferred

A lot has been going on recently and unfortunately blogging had to take a backseat while I prepared for final presentations, exams and the start of my internship. The good news is that I successfully made it through my first year of the MBA program and have an awesome internship lined up for the summer.

Internship – I have made it through my first week at Cardinal Health. I’m a Finance intern for the Nuclear Pharmacy Services division. I find the work really interesting and have already learned an unbelievable amount. I’ll continue updating the blog with work related updates.

Next summer plans – I recently committed to join some of my Yale rowing friends in a competition next summer (The Henley Royal Regatta) in Henley-on-Thames, England. This will be my fourth time rowing in the regatta, so hopefully we can finally win it. The regatta is similar to March Madness – basically it is a single elimination bracket and teams row a 2112 meter course in a one-on-one competition. If you win every race it will be five consecutive days of exhaustive races.

I’m going to remain quite busy with FGSA this summer. We are working with Dean Wruck to set-up several “current event debates” between faculty members during the lunch hour. If you have any good ideas for topics, please let me know.

On Wednesday, April 28, FGSA hosted our final Town Hall meeting of the school year. The turnout was larger than expected, but we had plenty of pizza for everyone. To kick-off the meeting, the Social Chairs announced their upcoming events and reminded us to buy tickets to the Fisher Formal on May 14th.

After the announcement, FGSA asked for feedback regarding the two-day course evaluation panel comprised of 2nd year students. Overall, the event seemed to be a major success and there was overwhelming support for us to host the event next year, even if online course evaluations are available.

Following this discussion, FGSA updated the class on our progress with implementing a course evaluation system. A few weeks ago, we discovered that The Undergraduate Student Government recently purchased a course evaluation system which could be the solution to our problem. We have requested a meeting with the USG to determine if there is a way to customize the system to better cater to our needs.

The conversation then shifted to a few other projects that FGSA is working on which included getting picnic tables for the Fisher courtyard, adding a copy machine to the computer lab, and improving the room reservation system. After a brief overview of these projects, FGSA opened the floor to questions and comments. The overarching theme is that FGSA should work towards improving alumni relations and find a way to improve the room reservation system. Other suggestions included purchasing a fax machine for the computer lab, developing alternatives to expensive course packets, and getting an ATM machine in Gerlach Hall.

Our next meeting with Dean Wruck is on May 17th and we’ll address these issues with her during that meeting. In the meantime, let us know if you have any other suggestions.

During the sixteenth century, a French apothecary named Nostradamus scripted cataclysmic predictions for planet Earth such as: the Balkan Wars, World War III, and the release of the iPhone. Unfortunately, Nostradamus’ vague quatrains require intense hindsight and lack the ability to predict the future. As a result, Nostradamus’ literature can be found in the Fiction aisle of the public library.

Nostradamus’ work is a stark contrast to the blog entries of Fahradamus: a strapping, young, Fisher MBA student. In recent blog posts, Fahradamus accurately predicted a curse on the MBA basketball team. The day after the entry was posted; I took an elbow to the cheek while playing basketball which resulted in a humiliating black eye. Perhaps you are thinking that one accurate prediction is just luck. If this is the case, keep reading.

Last week, Fahradamus posted a blog that stated he was planning to play softball for the Fisher MBA intramural team. In this entry he stated, “Although softball might seem relatively safe, I am quite sure that one of my classmates (probably me) will either get a black-eye or sustain some other serious injury while attempting to relive our glory days.” What happened next is probably obvious… In my very first softball game, I sustained a black-eye and required eight stitches above my eyebrow to stop the bleeding after I collided with a guy on the base path. Go figure.

Going forward, Fahradamus will only predict straight-A’s, high paying job offers, and success in safe recreational sports such as golf.

I’m now able to add an important title to my name … Uncle. My sister and her husband had their first child on Wednesday night. Her name is Grace Jacqueline Ravasio. She’s amazing (from the pictures I’ve seen) and I am trying to work ahead on projects so that I have some time to return to Cincinnati and meet her. Unfortunately, the third quarter is in full gear and this will probably be the busiest quarter of my MBA studies. This Tuesday I have a finance quiz on stock options. Studying for the quiz was a nice break from all the case studies I’ve been reading, but it somehow consumed my entire weekend.

On a different note, some of you might recall that I was a member of the FCOB intramural basketball team. After receiving a black-eye from an errant elbow (thanks again, John), I determined that I was too old to continue playing competitive sports. After a short hiatus from intramurals, the spring weather has coaxed me to return to the world of competitive sports and play on the FCOB softball team. Although softball might seem relatively safe, I am quite sure that one of my classmates (probably me) will either get a black-eye or sustain some other serious injury while attempting to relive our glory days. It should be fun.

Last Thursday I was a TA for a public speaking course at Ohio State and was responsible for grading student oral presentations. Overall I was very impressed with the talent of the class, even if topics included “Why Jim Varney is the best actor ever” and “Everyone should buy a Hangover Helmet.” Despite a clear disinterest in the class, most students were way more comfortable at speaking in front of a classroom than I was seven years ago… (Yes, I realize that my public speaking skills in 2003 should not be a benchmark to grade a class – but I used it anyways).

Although most speeches were interesting, one topic really stuck out from the rest. This student decided to talk for seven minutes as to why Mark Titus (OSU Men’s Basketball Player) has the best blog in the country. As you can expect, I was skeptical at first. Who is this Mark Titus and what does he have on Joe Fahrendorf’s Fisher Grad Life Blog? After all, the Google analytics are reporting that my blog actually receives a few unique hits per month (although this is steadily fading – c’mon Mom & Dad, start reading my blog again). Well, as it turned out, this guy was right. Mark Titus’ blog “Club Trillion” is one of the best blogs in the country.

Mark “The Shark” Titus (#34)… aka Mr. Rainmaker is a staple of The Ohio State Men’s Basketballbench. Mark’s blog provides a perspective on college basketball that is impossible to gain from ESPN or other news sources. The name Club Trillion was developed from the stat line Mark usually earns: 1 minute played and nothing else. When this happens, the scorecard reads 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – hence 1 Trillion. Although Mark is a highly talented basketball player (or so he claims), he is unable to be an everyday player on a program that is consistently ranked in the top 10.

Club Trillion has received nearly 2.5 million hits, slightly higher than my blog attendance. The blog has become such a hit that the website even sells Club Tril t-shirts, which have become very popular on The Ohio State campus. All the proceeds from the shirts go to support the charitable group A Kid Again.

As you can tell, I highly recommend you check out Club Trillion – in addition to the other authors on My Fisher Grad Life Blog. However, I will give you this warning: if you are like me and have no time for the next couple weeks, postpone exploring his blog until you have time to spare. I could not have been introduced to this website at a worse time. Next week I have a large marketing paper due and a negotiations exam. The following week I have 4 finals (so this will probably be the last post you see from me for two weeks… sorry).

My activity with the Fisher 5K Association has really increased the past two weeks. The Fisher 5K Association is a student organization that is responsible for organizing the annual Fisher 5K charity race. The Fisher 5K is an annual Run/Walk (5 kilometers or 3.1 miles) which began in 2004 and is held on The Ohio State University campus. It is the largest service event hosted by the Fisher graduate programs. All the proceeds of the race go to support the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus. In 2009, we had 608 race registrants and raised $21,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus. We are already close to 300 registrations and are looking to get another 500 more.

This year the race will be held on April 25, 2010. The official start time for the Fisher 5K is 9:00 AM. If you haven’t signed up, I encourage you to do so. If you have signed up, convince friends and family to sign-up and run/walk with you.

At the winter town hall meeting, there were several ideas that were brought to the attention of FGSA. Some we were aware of and others we were hearing for the first time. This is a summary of the ideas that were brought up at the meeting and our plan of action.

Course Evaluations – There is overwhelming support for a system in which students can rate the elective courses offered at FCOB and the professors who teach them. We were aware of this desire and have been working with our faculty adviser, Dr. Inks, to understand the challenges in putting a student accessible course evaluation system in place. One of the more significant challenges is gaining faculty support. Additionally, we have spoken with Molly Hood about her previous work regarding this issue. In order to make this proposal more compelling, we have benchmarked some of FCOB’s peer institutions and a majority of these institutions already have an evaluation system in place. We are currently devoting a significant amount of time and effort to this project, but we currently do not expect the system to be in place in the near term (6-9 months).

Action steps: We are going to meet with Dean Wruck ASAP to discuss this issue and hopefully find a compromise that is agreeable to all parties involved. In the meantime, we are beginning work on a week-long series of lunch sessions during the middle of Spring quarter that will allow faculty an opportunity to sell their fall elective courses to the students. We understand that this is not the ideal solution, but feel that for the short run, it’s the best way to get information about elective courses out to the student body.

Break-Out Room Reservation – There are several concerns that the current system for reserving rooms is not practical or efficient. There are many complaints regarding the three day advance notice and the inability to reserve a room after FCOB hours of operation.

Action Steps: We have already spoken with Alisa McMahon in the GPO about this concern. One of the issues that led to the current system was abuse of the privilege to reserve rooms, and for this reason the GPO currently “filters” the requests. We are going to work with Fisher ITS to determine if there is a system that could be created which would prevent room reservation abuse while making it easier to schedule a room on short notice. We have also inquired about opening up the Fisher Ambassador Interview rooms during exam week, but this cannot happen since they either contain a computer or a phone line.

Course Planning – Several students are concerned about the inability to forecast when upcoming electives will be offered. The feedback that we have received from the administration is that they are aware of this concern, but they are unable to publish available courses for the next couple quarters because of unforeseen changes that may occur.

Action Steps: We will work with Jen Mercer to find a way to improve the system. In the meantime, we recommend that you use prior years’ schedules as a baseline for future schedules. Although they are not always the same, it should provide a good idea of when classes will be offered.

Alumni Relations – Some individuals feel that the current alumni affairs group at FCOB could do a better job of finding alumni willing to talk with students regarding employment and FCOB classes.

Action Steps: We will speak with the Fisher Office of External Relations regarding ways to improve interaction between students and alumni. We have also requested the social chairs host quarterly events that include alumni in the Columbus area.

Access to course rosters – Some individuals would like to have access to lists of individuals who have taken classes so they can talk to them about the course or so that they can buy books and course packets from them.

Action Steps: We will speak to Jen Mercer about this request but are concerned that there may be FERPA obstacles. If nothing else, we believe it is possible to create some sort of system that will allow individuals to opt-in to a program that will share this information with others.

In addition to these ideas, we have several of our own such as getting a copy machine placed in Gerlach for student use. We also plan to coordinate a FCOB March Madness Bracket Challenge. We encourage people to follow what we are doing and to send us any suggestions. Our email is fgsasuggestions@gmail.com. Please don’t wait for the next town hall meeting to tell us what is on your mind today.

Along with the accounting research seminar mentioned in my previous entry, I had my super-duper triple “firsts” at Ohio State during this pass weekend – my first Seminar, Swimming, and Skating!

The school’s swimming pools are located at the bottom level of RPAC (Recreation & Physical Activity Center), with a professional name “The OSU Aquatic Center”. I was grateful that I checked the center out before it’s too late (Thanks Nadia!). The Aquatic Center is one of the places that you cannot miss at Ohio State. It includes standard pools (for swimming and diving), recreational lap pools, a leisure pool, a hot tub, and two sauna rooms. The facility, especially the locker rooms, is designed considerately for users’ need. Everything is so cool (except for the temperature, because it’s warm) and makes the visit convenient and wonderful. I would have regretted it if I did not make best use of the facility during my stay at Ohio State.

The OSU Rink is great too. It is very close to Fisher and is adjacent to the parking lot on Lane Avenue. $3 for student admission and $2 for skate rental, great prices! Tips: the skates at the rink are a little too hard, so if you are a frequent skater, it might worth purchasing your own skates. My feet hurt a lot when I was skating which they never did before (though I have not been skating for many years). I am not sure whether that was totally the skates’ problem or I was not tying them tight enough. I will probably go skate again this week and figure it out.